In-store field-of-view merchandising and analytics

ABSTRACT

Concepts and technologies disclosed herein are directed to aspects of in-store field-of-view merchandising and analytics. According to one aspect disclosed herein, a system receives a message from a user device. The message can include an orientation of the user device and a location of the user device within an environment, such as a store. The system can obtain a potential field-of-view of a user associated with the user device. The system can determine, based upon the orientation, the location of the user device and the potential field-of-view of the user, an estimated field-of-view of the user. The system can query a database to look-up items located within the estimated field-of-view. The system can receive, in response to the query, a query response identifying an item located within the estimated field-of-view of the user within the environment.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a divisional of U.S. patent application Ser. No.14/254,042, entitled “In-Store Field-of-View Merchandising andAnalytics,” filed Apr. 16, 2014, now U.S. Pat. No. 9,626,709, which isincorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

BACKGROUND

Mobile computing devices such as smartphones and tablet computers havebecome an integral part of many people's lives. Many people use thesedevices as an aid for researching, comparing and purchasing productsonline as well as in physical stores. In fact, some reports indicatethat up to 84% of smartphone shoppers utilize their smartphones while ina physical store to, among other things, research productspecifications, compare prices and read reviews.

Some application developers have created device applications thatleverage augmented reality techniques to further enhance userexperiences. Augmented reality techniques utilize a camera to present alive view of a scene and augment the scene with additional information.For example, a navigation application that leverages augmented realitytechnology may present a live view of a street scene and augment thestreet scene with address information, directions and/or othernavigation information as an overlay to the live images captured by thecamera. Other augmented reality applications exist, including some thatallow shoppers to get additional information regarding products within astore.

Although augmented reality provides a fun and useful tool for users toreceive information in a real-world context, many users find it can becumbersome to hold up their device to view the live scene captured bythe camera and the contextual information that augments the live scene.This may result in many users fleeting use of augmented realityapplications. Without augmented reality, however, a user'sfield-of-view, as approximated through the device camera, is lost andinformation that might be contextually relevant becomes more difficultto ascertain and present to the user.

SUMMARY

Concepts and technologies disclosed herein are directed to aspects ofin-store field-of-view merchandising and analytics. According to oneaspect disclosed herein, a system receives a message from a user device.The message can include an orientation of the user device and a locationof the user device within an environment, such as a store. The systemcan obtain a potential field-of-view of a user associated with the userdevice. The system can determine, based upon the orientation and thelocation of the user device and the potential field-of-view of the user,an estimated field-of-view of the user. The system can query a databaseto look-up items located within the estimated field-of-view. The systemcan receive, in response to the query, a query response identifying anitem located within the estimated field-of-view of the user within theenvironment.

In some embodiments, the system can notify a store analytics system ofthe item located within the estimated field-of-view of the user withinthe environment. In some embodiments, the store analytics system canutilize information regarding the item located within the estimatedfield-of-view of the user within the environment to perform an aggregateanalysis of a plurality of customers of the environment to determinewhat items the plurality of customers are viewing within theenvironment, how long the plurality of customers are viewing the itemswithin the environment, or an effectiveness of an advertisementassociated with the items within the environment. In some otherembodiments, the store analytics system can determine informationassociated with the item located within the estimated field-of-view ofthe user within the environment and can send the information associatedwith the item located within the estimated field-of-view of the userwithin the environment to the user device. In some other embodiments,the store analytics system can establish communications with the userdevice over a network so that customer service personnel can offer toassist the user with the item.

In some embodiments, the message also includes the potentialfield-of-view and the system obtains the potential field-of-view fromthe message. In some other embodiments, the system obtains the potentialfield-of-view form the database.

The potential field-of-view can be a default potential field-of-view.The default potential field-of-view can be defined as a normal visualfield. In some embodiments, the normal visual field is defined inaccordance with optometry and ophthalmology standards for the normalhuman visual field, and as such, may be updated from time-to-time. Forexample, the normal human visual field is defined as an island of visionmeasuring 90 degrees temporally to central fixation, 50 degreessuperiorly and nasally, and 60 degrees inferiorly. Likewise, an abnormalfield of vision may be defined as a depression or absence of visionanywhere in the island of vision. The user may select the defaultpotential field-of-view if he or she knows, based upon a visionassessment, that his or her visual field is normal.

The potential field-of-view can be a custom potential field-of-view. Thecustom potential field-of-view can be determined based upon results of avisual field test administered to the user. The visual field test, insome embodiments, is a standardized visual field test utilized byoptometrists and ophthalmologists to determine a patient's visual fieldthat has been optimized for use on the user device. For example, thevisual field test may utilize a software-based multi-fixationcampimeter, such as a version of the Damato Multi-Fixation Campimeteravailable from www.testvision.org. In some embodiments, the visual fieldtest is included as part of an application that can be executed by oneor more processors of the user device. In some other embodiments, thevisual field test is available via a website accessible by a web browserinstalled on the user device. In some other embodiments, the visualfield test is available via a web application accessible by the webbrowser.

It should be appreciated that the above-described subject matter may beimplemented as a computer-controlled apparatus, a computer process, acomputing system, or as an article of manufacture such as acomputer-readable storage medium. These and various other features willbe apparent from a reading of the following Detailed Description and areview of the associated drawings.

Other systems, methods, and/or computer program products according toembodiments will be or become apparent to one with skill in the art uponreview of the following drawings and detailed description. It isintended that all such additional systems, methods, and/or computerprogram products be included within this description, be within thescope of this disclosure.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a system diagram illustrating an illustrative operatingenvironment for the various embodiments disclosed herein.

FIG. 2 is a flow diagram illustrating aspects of a method fordetermining an estimated field-of-view of a user from the perspective ofa user device, according to an illustrative embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a flow diagram illustrating aspects of a method fordetermining an estimated field-of-view of a user from the perspective ofa visual orientation system, according to an illustrative embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a flow diagram illustrating aspects of a method fordetermining an estimated field-of-view of a user from the perspective ofa store analytics system, according to an illustrative embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a flow diagram illustrating aspects of a method forestablishing a potential field-of-view of a user, according to anillustrative embodiment.

FIG. 6 schematically illustrates a network, according to an illustrativeembodiment.

FIG. 7 is a block diagram illustrating an example computer system,according to some illustrative embodiments.

FIG. 8 is a block diagram illustrating an example mobile device,according to some illustrative embodiments.

FIG. 9 is a block diagram illustrating aspects of a method for using anestimated field-of-view of a user to provide customer service, accordingto an illustrative embodiment.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The following detailed description is directed to in-store field-of-viewmerchandising and analytics. More specifically, the following detaileddescription is directed to determining a user's location and estimatingthe user's field-of-view within a store to provide valuable informationto a store owner and/or operator as well as vendors who sell products inthe store. By having information regarding what customers, individuallyor in aggregate, are looking at, and for how long, the store ownerand/or operator can gather valuable information regarding how tointeract with a customer, what shopping patterns customers display, andwhat items and/or advertisements benefit from being near popularproducts. This information and conclusions that may be drawn from thisinformation can allow the store owner and/or operator to improvecustomer and vendor relationships.

While the subject matter described herein is presented in the generalcontext of program modules that execute in conjunction with theexecution of an operating system and application programs on a computersystem, those skilled in the art will recognize that otherimplementations may be performed in combination with other types ofprogram modules. Generally, program modules include routines, programs,components, data structures, and other types of structures that performparticular tasks or implement particular abstract data types. Moreover,those skilled in the art will appreciate that the subject matterdescribed herein may be practiced with other computer systemconfigurations, including hand-held devices, multiprocessor systems,microprocessor-based or programmable consumer electronics,minicomputers, mainframe computers, and the like.

Referring now to FIG. 1, aspects of an operating environment 100 forvarious embodiments of the concepts and technologies disclosed hereinwill be described. The operating environment 100 shown in FIG. 1includes a store premises 102 that includes a plurality of aisles104A-104D in which a plurality of items (not shown) are located. Each ofthe plurality of aisles 104A-104D is associated with a corresponding oneof a plurality of location beacons 106A-106D. The plurality of locationbeacons 106A-106D can be utilized by a user device 108 associated with auser 110 to determine a location of the user device 108, and thus theuser 110, within the store premises 102. Furthermore, the user 110 isshown viewing a portion of the aisle 104A, as represented by an actualfield-of-view 112 of the user 110. The actual field-of-view 112 of theuser 110 may include one or more items located on one or more shelveswithin the aisle 104A. As will be described in greater detail below, theactual field-of-view 112 of the user 110 can be estimated by a visualorientation system 114 using orientation and location data provided, insome embodiments, by a device application 116 executing on the userdevice 108. The device application 116 can obtain the orientation datafrom one or more orientation sensors 118. The device application 116 canobtain the location data from one or more location components 120. Thedevice application 116, in some embodiments, provides privacy settingsthat allow the user 110 to opt-in to or opt-out of one or more featuresdescribed herein that utilize, for example, a location, orientation,shopping history, personal information, or other information associatedwith the user 110.

The store premises 102 is described by way of example herein as a storehaving a plurality of aisles 104A-104D each with shelves for displayingproducts and other items. In some embodiments, products and/or otheritems may be tagged with static or dynamic pricing displays, the latterof which may display pricing that is particular to the user 110. By wayof example, the store premises 102 may be a home improvement store or agrocery store. These examples are provided merely to aid in describingthe concepts and technologies disclosed herein. It should be understoodthat the store premises 102 alternatively may include any environment inwhich the field-of-view of a given user is useful. Some exampleenvironments include, but are not limited to, outdoor environments,stadiums, tents and other temporary structures, houses and otherresidential environments, parking garages, commercial buildings, naturetrails, outdoor sales events, festivals, concerts, other non-retailenvironments, and the like.

The user device 108, in some embodiments, is a mobile device such as,for example, a smartphone, a tablet device, a personal digitalassistant, a laptop computer, or the like. The user device 108, in someother embodiments, is a wearable device such as, for example, a smartwatch, smart glasses, smart jewelry, fitness accessories, or the like.In some other embodiments, the user device 108 is an implanted devicethat is implanted within the user 110. In some other embodiments, theuser device 108 is an electronic tattoo. The electronic tattoo may be anepidermal electronic sensing (“EES”) device that attaches to the skin ofthe user 110 and contains an array of electronic components forperforming various operations of the user device 108 described herein.In some other embodiments, the user device 108 is built-in to a shoppingcart, shopping basket or the like and can be associated with the user110 upon entry, at check out, or via other mechanisms.

The user device 108, in some embodiments, is in communication with asecondary device, which may be a mobile device, a wearable device, animplanted device, or an electronic tattoo. Communication between theuser device 108 and the secondary device can be facilitated by ashort-range communications technologies such as, for example, BLUETOOTH,BLUETOOTH low energy (“BLE”), infrared, infrared data association(“IRDA”), near field communications (“NFC”), other RF technologies, orthe like. Communication between the user device 108 and the secondarydevice can be facilitated by WI-FI, other wireless technologies, orwired technologies.

The user device 108, in the illustrated example, is operating incommunication with and/or as part of a communications network(“network”) 122. The network 122 can include one or more wireless localarea networks (“WLANs”), one or more wireless wide area networks(“WWANS”), one or more wireless metropolitan area networks (“WMANs”),one or more campus area networks (“CANs”), and/or one or more packetdata networks (e.g., the Internet). The user device 108 can communicatewith the network 122 using any wireless communications technology orcombination of wireless communications technologies, some examples ofwhich include, but are not limited to, WI-FI, Global System for Mobilecommunications (“GSM”), Code Division Multiple Access (“CDMA”) ONE,CDMA2000, Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (“UMTS”), Long-TermEvolution (“LTE”), Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access(“WiMAX”), other Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers(“IEEE”) 802.XX technologies, and the like. The user device 108 cancommunicate with the network 122 via various channel access methods(which may or may not be used by the aforementioned technologies),including, but not limited to, Time Division Multiple Access (“TDMA”),Frequency Division Multiple Access (“FDMA”), CDMA, wideband CDMA(“W-CDMA”), Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (“OFDM”),Single-Carrier FDMA (“SC-FDMA”), Space Division Multiple Access(“SDMA”), and the like. Data can be exchanged between the user device108 and the network 122 via cellular data technologies such as, but notlimited to, General Packet Radio Service (“GPRS”), Enhanced Data ratesfor Global Evolution (“EDGE”), the High-Speed Packet Access (“HSPA”)protocol family including High-Speed Downlink Packet Access (“HSDPA”),Enhanced Uplink (“EUL”) or otherwise termed High-Speed Uplink PacketAccess (“HSUPA”), Evolved HSPA (“HSPA+”), LTE, and/or various othercurrent and future wireless data access technologies. It should beunderstood that the network 122 may additionally include infrastructurethat operates on wired communications technologies, including, but notlimited to, optical fiber, coaxial cable, twisted pair cable, and thelike to transfer data between various systems operating on or incommunication with the network 122. Additional details regarding anillustrative example of the network 122 is illustrated and describedwith reference to FIG. 8.

The network 122 is illustrated as being in communication with a networklocation system 124. The network location system 124 can provide to theuser device 108 location information associated with a location of theuser device 108 by leveraging one or more network-based locationdetermining techniques, such as, but not limited to, cellulartriangulation, WI-FI triangulation, cell ID, forward link timing, orsome combination thereof.

The location of the user device 108 alternatively or additionally can bedetermined by the location component(s) 120. In some embodiments, thelocation component(s) 120 include a global positioning system (“GPS”)component. In some other embodiments, the location component(s) 120include a short-range communications component that can communicate withone or more of the plurality of location beacons 106A-106D to determinethe location of the user device 108 within the store premises 102. Inthese embodiments, the short-range communications component can utilizeBLUETOOTH, BLE, infrared, IRDA, NFC, other RF technologies, otherlight-based technologies, combinations thereof, and the like tocommunicate with one or more of the plurality of location beacons106A-106D to determine the location of the user device 108 within thestore premises 102. Other technologies, including quick response codes,barcodes, three-dimensional barcodes, and the like may be used by theuser device 108 to establish location within the store premises 102.

The user device 108, in the illustrated example, is additionallyoperating in communication with and/or as part of a store communicationsnetwork (“store network”) 126. The store network 126 can include one ormore wireless LANs and may additionally include one or more wired LANs.In some embodiments, the store network 126 includes one or more wirelessaccess points (not shown) that operate in accordance with IEEE 802.11Xspecifications to provide the user device 108 wireless connectivity tothe store network 126 through which the user device 108 can communicatewith a store analytics system 128, a store location system 130, thevisual orientation system 114, and a store database 134. The storeanalytics system 128, the store location system 130, the visualorientation system 114, and the store database 134 can communicate witheach other via the store network 126.

The illustrated store analytics system 128 includes a store analyticsapplication 136. The store analytics application 136 can be stored in amemory or other storage component (best shown in FIG. 7) of the storeanalytics system 128 and can be executed by one or more processors (alsobest shown in FIG. 7) of the store analytics system 128 to performvarious operations described herein. For example, execution of the storeanalytics application 136 can cause the store analytics system 128 tointeract with the user device 108, the store network 126, the storedatabase 134, the store location system 130, and/or the visualorientation system 114. Some operations performed by the store analyticssystem 128 will be described immediately below, and others will becomeapparent from the other FIGURES described herein.

The store analytics application 136 can be executed by one or moreprocessors of the store analytics system 128 to perform operations, suchas, for example, measuring, collecting, analyzing, and reporting dataassociated with the store premises 102, products for sale within thestore premises 102, advertisements within the store premises 102, andcustomers, such as the user 110, of the store premises 102. This datacan include, for example, customer data 139, store data 141, productdata 142, and advertisement data 144 as shown in the store database 134.The store analytics system 128 can save data to the store database 134,retrieve data from the store database 134, delete data from the storedatabase 134, edit data and saved edited data to the store database 134,and manipulate data stored within the store database 134.

The customer data 139 can include data associated with one or morecustomers such as the user 110. For example, the customer data 139 caninclude identity data such as name, birth date, gender, one or morephysical addresses, one or more telephone numbers, one or more emailaddresses, social network information, customer account informationincluding account identifiers and/or user identifiers, and/or jobinformation. The customer data 139 can additionally or alternativelyinclude quantitative data, such as, for example, transactionalinformation such as the number of products purchased, details regardingthe products purchases, value of products purchased, and product returnhistory; communication information such as communication date,communication channel (e.g., telephone, email or social network) andcommunication subject; online activity such as website visits, productviews, online registration information, and social network activityincluding posts, likes, and other social network interactions; andcustomer service information such as customer complaint details andcustomer inquiry details. The customer data 139 can additionally oralternatively include descriptive data, such as, for example, maritalstatus, number of children, age of children, property type, car type,number of car doors, number and type of pets, annual income, profession,education level, and the like. The customer data 139 can additionally oralternatively include qualitative data, such as, for example,attitudinal information regarding how customers rate customer service,the value of a product, and the likelihood of purchasing a productagain; opinion information regarding customer's favorite colors,favorite vacation locations, and other personal opinions; and motionalinformation regarding why a product was purchased (e.g., personal use,business use or as a gift), one or more reasons for purchasing a product(e.g., locality, brand, price, and/or quality). The customer data alsocan include permission and suppression preferences. It should beunderstood that the customer data 139 can include any combination of theaforementioned data and other data associated with customer that is notspecified herein.

The store data 141 can include data associated with various aspects ofthe store premises 102. For example, the store data 141 can includedimensions of the store premises 102, a layout of the store premises102, the location of each of the plurality of aisles 104A-104D and/orother areas (e.g., departments, restrooms, customer service, cashiers,and the like) within the store premises 102, and the location of each ofthe plurality of location beacons 106A-106D. It should be understoodthat the store data 141 can include any combination of theaforementioned data and other data associated with the store premises102 that is not specified herein.

The product data 142 can include data associated with one or moreproducts available for purchase within the store premises 102. Theproduct data 142 can include, for example, category, title, description,image, uniform resource locator (“URL”) for a corresponding web page ona website associated with the store premises 102, stock keeping unit(“SKU”), universal product code (“UPC”), shelf-life, wholesale price,retail price, location within the store premises 102, quantity-on-hand,quantity-on-order, and backorder status. It should be understood thatthe product data 142 can include any combination of the aforementioneddata and other data associated with products that is not specifiedherein.

The advertisement data 144 can include data associated with one or moreadvertisements on display, previously on display or scheduled to be ondisplay within the store premises 102. The advertisement data 144 caninclude identifiers that map to products for which data is stored aspart of the product data 142 and for which one or more advertisementsare available. The advertisement data 144 can additionally includeadvertisement category, advertisement title, advertisement description,advertisement price, advertisement restrictions, advertisement startdate, and/or advertisement expiration date. It should be understood thatthe advertisement data 144 can include any combination of theaforementioned data and other data associated with products that is notspecified herein.

It is contemplated that the store database 134 can store other data thatdoes not fall into one or more of the aforementioned data categories. Assuch, the inclusion of the aforementioned data categories in the storedatabase 134 should not be construed as being limiting in any way.

The store location system 130 includes a store location application 138.The store location application 138 can be stored in a memory or otherstorage component (best shown in FIG. 7) of the store location system130 and can be executed by one or more processors (also best shown inFIG. 7) of the store location system 130 to perform various operationsdescribed herein. For example, execution of the store locationapplication 138 can cause the store location system 130 to communicatewith one or more of the plurality of location beacons 106A-106D todetermine a location of the user device 108, and in this manner also theuser 110, within the store premises 102. The store location system 130alternatively or additionally can rely on network information from thestore network 126 to triangulate the location of the user device 108.Other indoor location determining techniques may be utilized todetermine the location of the user device 108 within the store premises102.

The visual orientation system 114 includes a visual orientationapplication 140. The visual orientation application 140 can be stored ina memory or other storage component (best shown in FIG. 7) of the visualorientation system 114 and can be executed by one or more processors(also best shown in FIG. 7) of visual orientation system 114 to performvarious operations described herein. For example, execution of thevisual orientation application 140 can cause the visual orientationsystem 114 to determine an estimated field-of-view of the user 110 basedupon an orientation and a location of the user device 108 at a giventime, as will be described in greater detail herein below with referenceto FIG. 3.

Turning now to FIG. 2, a method 200 for determining an estimatedfield-of-view of the user 110 from the perspective of the user device108 will be described, according to an illustrative embodiment. Itshould be understood that the operations of the methods disclosed hereinare not necessarily presented in any particular order and thatperformance of some or all of the operations in an alternative order(s)is possible and is contemplated. The operations have been presented inthe demonstrated order for ease of description and illustration.Operations may be added, omitted, and/or performed simultaneously,without departing from the scope of the concepts and technologiesdisclosed herein.

It also should be understood that the methods disclosed herein can beended at any time and need not be performed in its entirety. Some or alloperations of the methods, and/or substantially equivalent operations,can be performed by execution of computer-readable instructions includedon a computer storage media, as defined herein. The term“computer-readable instructions,” and variants thereof, as used herein,is used expansively to include routines, applications, applicationmodules, program modules, programs, components, data structures,algorithms, and the like. Computer-readable instructions can beimplemented on various system configurations including single-processoror multiprocessor systems, minicomputers, mainframe computers, personalcomputers, hand-held computing devices, microprocessor-based,programmable consumer electronics, combinations thereof, and the like.

Thus, it should be appreciated that the logical operations describedherein are implemented (1) as a sequence of computer implemented acts orprogram modules running on a computing system and/or (2) asinterconnected machine logic circuits or circuit modules within thecomputing system. The implementation is a matter of choice dependent onthe performance and other requirements of the computing system.Accordingly, the logical operations described herein are referred tovariously as states, operations, structural devices, acts, or modules.These states, operations, structural devices, acts, and modules may beimplemented in software, in firmware, in special purpose digital logic,and any combination thereof. As used herein, the phrase “cause aprocessor to perform operations” and variants thereof is used to referto causing a processor of a computing system or device, such as, forexample, the plurality of beacons 106A-106D, the user device 108, thenetwork location system 124, the store analytics system 128, the storelocation system 130, or the visual orientation system 114 to perform oneor more operations and/or causing the processor to direct othercomponents of the computing system or device to perform one or more ofthe operations.

For purposes of illustrating and describing the concepts of the presentdisclosure, operations of the methods disclosed herein are described asbeing performed by the user device 108, the network location system 124,the store analytics system 128, the store location system 130, thevisual orientation system 114, or the store database 134 alone or incombination via execution of one or more software modules such as, forexample, the device application 116, the store analytics application136, the store location application 138, the visual orientationapplication 140, and/or other software/firmware components describedherein. It should be understood that additional and/or alternativedevices and/or network nodes can provide the functionality describedherein via execution of one or more modules, applications, and/or othersoftware. Thus, the illustrated embodiments are illustrative, and shouldnot be viewed as being limiting in any way.

The method 200 will be described as being performed by the user device108 with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2. The method 200 begins and proceedsto operation 202, where the user device 108 determines a startinglocation for the user 110 based upon the location of the user device108. In some embodiments, the location component 120, embodied as a GPScomponent, acquires a GPS fix for the user device 108. In someembodiments, the location component 120, embodied as a short-rangecommunications component, acquires location information from one or moreof the plurality of beacons 106A-106D. In these embodiments, thelocation information may identify the location of one or more of theplurality of beacons 106A-106D, or alternatively the locationinformation may be used by the user device 108 in a query to the storelocation system 130 to acquire the location of the user device 108. Insome other embodiments, the user device 108 receives locationinformation directly from the store location system 130, which maydetermine the location of the user device 108 via WI-FI triangulationand/or beacon triangulation techniques, for example. In some otherembodiments, the user device 108 receives location information from thenetwork location system 124.

From operation 202, the method 200 proceeds to operation 204, where theuser device 108 determines an orientation of the user device 108 atvarious times. More particularly, the orientation sensor(s) 118,embodied as a gyroscope, an accelerometer, a compass, a gyrocompass,and/or the like, for example, can determine the orientation of the userdevice 108 and the direction of movement of the user device 108 as theuser 110 navigates through the store premises 102. As the user 110navigates through the store premises 102, the device application 116 canrequest sensor output from the orientation sensor(s) 118 at times T₁ . .. T_(n). The sensor output can be used by the device application 116 todetermine the orientation of the user device 108 at times T₁ . . .T_(n).

In addition, or in the alternative, the orientation of the user device108 can be determined based upon parameters such as, but not limited to,gait, pace, speed, and/or direction of the user 110 as measured by theuser device 108. For example, a person walking down an aisle may exhibitdifferent motion characteristics than a person stepping sideways infront of a display, or stepping up a stair, or walking up a ramp, orpushing a cart. Such motion characteristics can help confirm a person'srotational position relative to the user device 108. After a person'srotational position relative to the user device 108 is ascertained, theorientation sensor(s) 118 in the user device 108 can be used todetermine changes.

From operation 204, the method 200 proceeds to operation 206, where theuser device 108 uses the orientation sensor(s) 118 to detect that theuser device 108 has stopped at time T_(x). For example, an accelerometeroutput may indicate no movement or movement below a pre-defined movementthreshold that is indicative of the user device 108 being stopped. Fromoperation 206, the method 200 proceeds to operation 208, where the userdevice 108 determines an orientation of the user device 108 at timeT_(x). In particular, the device application 116 can request sensoroutput from a gyroscope of the orientation sensor(s) 118 at time T_(x).Additionally, at operation 206, the user device 108 determines thelocation of the user device 108 at time T_(x). In some embodiments, thelocation component 120, embodied as a GPS component, acquires a GPS fixfor the user device 108. In some embodiments, the location component120, embodied as a short-range communications component, acquireslocation information from one or more of the plurality of beacons106A-106D. In these embodiments, the location information may identifythe location of one or more of the plurality of beacons 106A-106D, oralternatively the location information may be used by the user device108 in a query to the store location system 130 to acquire the locationof the user device 108. In some other embodiments, the user device 108receives location information directly from the store location system130, which may determine the location of the user device 108 via WI-FItriangulation and/or beacon triangulation techniques, for example. Insome other embodiments, the user device 108 receives locationinformation from the network location system 124. In some otherembodiments, the user device 108 uses the starting location determinedat operation 202 and data obtained from the orientation sensor(s) 118 toestimate the distance traveled by the user 110 from the startinglocation.

From operation 208, the method 200 proceeds to operation 210, where theuser device 108 generates a message. The message can include theorientation of the user device 108 and the location of the user device108 at time T_(x) as determined at operation 206. From operation 210,the method 200 proceeds to operation 212, where the user device 108sends the message to the visual orientation system 114. In response, atoperation 214, the user device 108 receives information associated withone or more items that are located within an estimated field-of-view ofthe user 110 and presents the information to the user 110 via a display,speakers or other output component (not shown) of the user device 108.The visual orientation system 114 can determine the estimatedfield-of-view of the user 110 within varying accuracy to the actualfield-of-view 112 of the user 110.

In some embodiments, the information includes additional informationabout the item(s) estimated by the visual orientation system 114 to bewithin the actual field-of-view 112 of the user 110. The additionalinformation can include, for example, any of the product data 142associated with the item(s) estimated by the visual orientation system114 to be within the actual field-of-view 112 of the user 110. Inaddition, or in the alternative, the additional information can include,for example, any of the advertisement data 144 associated with theitem(s) estimated by the visual orientation system 114 to be within theactual field-of-view 112 of the user 110.

In some other embodiments, the information includes customer serviceinformation regarding the item(s) estimated by the visual orientationsystem 114 to be within the actual field-of-view 112 of the user 110. Inthis manner, customer service personnel can offer, via text, audioand/or video communications established via the store network 126, toassist the user 110 with the item(s) estimated by the visual orientationsystem 114 to be within the actual field-of-view 112 of the user 110.The customer service personnel may be real or virtual. The customerservice personnel may be located within the store premises 102 orremote. Additional details regarding interactions between customerservice personnel and the user 110 will be described below withreference to FIG. 9.

The estimated field-of-view is determined by the visual orientationsystem 114 as will be described in greater detail below with referenceto FIG. 3. The estimated field-of-view can be utilized by the storeanalytics system 128 to determine one or more items that are estimatedto be visible to the user 110. Over time through the analysis ofestimated fields-of-view of a plurality of customers navigating throughthe store premises 102, the store analytics system 128 can determinewhat items customers are viewing, how long customers are viewing thoseitems, and whether advertisements for customers translated into sales,among other metrics that may be useable by an owner and/or operator ofthe store premises 102, an item manufacturer, an item distributor, anitem advertiser, and/or other entities. Metrics such as those describedabove may be used by an owner and/or operator of the store premises 102,an item manufacturer, an item distributor, an item advertiser, and/orother entities for item placement decisions, marketing strategies,events, sales performance analysis, and other uses. It is contemplatedthat metrics from the store premises 102 can be aggregated with metricsfrom one or more additional stores. This aggregate data can be analyzedto determine which stores are performing better with respect to specificproduct visibility and/or advertisement effectiveness. Metrics from thestore premises 102 and/or additional stores may be presented via asoftware dashboard so that provides a real-time data view and/or ahistorical data view to determine how many customers view a particularproduct or advertisement within a particular time period such as now,this week, last week, last month, the last year, or any other timeperiod, which may be pre-defined or defined on-the-fly.

In some other embodiments, the information includes recalledinformation. Recalled information can include any information previouslypresented to the user 110 when the current estimated field-of-viewmatches a previous estimated field-of-view. A match may be an exactmatch or an approximated match. In some embodiments, the recalledinformation provides the user 110 with information associated with theprevious estimated field-of-view and may be compared to informationassociated with the current estimated field-of-view. In this manner, theuser 110 can be presented with information reminiscent of past andpresent for a particular field-of-view. The past information may containinformation not previously presented to the user 110 but derived from acommon database. The common database may be or may include data such asstored in the store database 134, or the common database may be an imageor video of the user's 110 estimated field-of-view from some time in thepast. The latter may be useful for a number of types of applications,such as to show a product distributor what their shelf placement used tolook like before an improvement and then after. Or, in a differentmanner, the view of a past version of a predicted field-of-view mayenable a user 110 to view what an external environment looked like atsome time in the past, for instance, to compare an external environmentbefore and after the completion of a construction project.

From operation 214, the method 200 proceeds to operation 216. The method200 ends at operation 216.

In some embodiments, the orientation, location, and/or field-of-view canbe validated by the user 110 through the device application 116. Forexample, the device application 116 may elicit a response from the user110 to a coupon, discount offer, promotion, or other prompt to validatethe orientation, location, and/or field-of-view of the user 110.

Turning now to FIG. 3, a method 300 for determining an estimatedfield-of-view of the user 110 from the perspective of the visualorientation system 114 will be described, according to an illustrativeembodiment. The method 300 will be described as being performed by thevisual orientation system 114 with reference to FIGS. 1 and 3.

The method 300 begins and proceeds to operation 302, where the visualorientation system 114 receives the message generated by the user device108 at operation 210 of the method 200 described above. From operation302, the method 300 proceeds to operation 304, where the visualorientation system 114 determines the estimated field-of-view of theuser 110 based upon the orientation and the location of the user device108 at time T_(x) and a potential field-of-view of the user 110. Thepotential field-of-view of the user 110 is the visual field that theuser 110 is physically capable of viewing when unobstructed. Thepotential field-of-view may be obtained from the customer data 139stored in the store database 134 or may be included by the user device108 in the message received at operation 302. Using the orientation andthe location of the user device 108 and the potential field-of-view ofthe user 110, the visual orientation system 114 can return one or moreitems located within that location of the store premises 102 andestimated to be visible to the user 110 based upon the orientation ofthe user device 108 (i.e., which direction the user 110 is facing) andarea viewable to the user 110 based upon the user's potentialfield-of-view.

From operation 304, the method 300 proceeds to operation 306, where thevisual orientation system 114 generates a query directed to the storedatabase 134. The query can include a request to look-up items locatedwithin the estimated field-of-view of the user 110. From operation 306,the method 300 proceeds to operation 308, where the visual orientationsystem 114 receives a query response from the store database 134. Thequery response can include one or more items that are located within theestimated field-of-view of the user 110. From operation 308, the method300 proceeds to operation 310, where the visual orientation system 114notifies the store analytics system 128 of the one or more items locatedwithin the estimated field-of-view of the user 110.

The one or more items located within the estimated field-of-view of theuser 110, alone or in aggregate with other estimated fields-of-view, canbe used by the store analytics system 128 for analysis to determine whatitems customers are viewing, how long customers are viewing those items,and whether advertisements for customers translated into sales, amongother metrics that may be useable by an owner and/or operator of thestore premises 102, an item manufacturer, an item distributor, an itemadvertiser, and/or other entities. Metrics such as those described abovemay be used by an owner and/or operator of the store premises 102, anitem manufacturer, an item distributor, an item advertiser, and/or otherentities for item placement decisions, marketing strategies, events,sales performance analysis, and other uses. For instance, a storeoperator may be able to make determinations about which products orwhich locations within the store premises 102 get more, or less,“eyeball traffic.” With such analytics intelligence, the store operatormay be able to upsell item distributors to purchase higher priced shelfspace or shelf space in a different location that is nearby othercomplementary merchandise. Also, the store analytics system 128 mayproduce data that indicates which products on a user's 110 visualperiphery are more likely to have been seen based on the period of timethe user 110 spent at that location.

From operation 310, the method 300 proceeds to operation 312. The method300 ends at operation 312.

Turning now to FIG. 4, a method 400 for determining an estimatedfield-of-view of the user 110 from the perspective of the storeanalytics system 128 will be described, according to an illustrativeembodiment. The method 400 will be described as being performed by thestore analytics system 128 with reference to FIGS. 1 and 4.

The method 400 begins and proceeds to operation 402, where the storeanalytics system 128 receives the notification from the visualorientation system 114. From operation 402, the method 400 proceeds tooperation 404, where the store analytics system 128 determinesinformation associated with the one or more items for presentation tothe user 110. From operation 404, the method 400 proceeds to operation406, where the store analytics system 128 sends the informationassociated with the one or more items to the user device 108.

In some embodiments, the information includes additional informationabout the item(s) estimated by the visual orientation system 114 to bewithin the actual field-of-view 112 of the user 110. The additionalinformation can include, for example, any of the product data 142associated with the item(s) estimated by the visual orientation system114 to be within the actual field-of-view 112 of the user 110. Or, theadditional information can include, for example, any of the product data142 associated with the complementary or competing item(s) estimated bythe visual orientation system 114 to be within the actual field-of-view112 of the user 110. In addition, or in the alternative, the additionalinformation can include, for example, any of the advertisement data 144associated with the item(s) estimated by the visual orientation system114 to be within the actual field-of-view 112 of the user 110.

In some other embodiments, the information includes customer serviceinformation regarding the item(s) estimated by the visual orientationsystem 114 to be within the actual field-of-view 112 of the user 110. Inthis manner, customer service personnel can offer, via text, audioand/or video communications established via the store network 126, toassist the user 110 with the item(s) estimated by the visual orientationsystem 114 to be within the actual field-of-view 112 of the user 110.The customer service personnel may be real or virtual. The customerservice personnel may be located within the store premises 102 orremote.

From operation 406, the method 400 proceeds to operation 408. The method400 ends at operation 408.

Turning now to FIG. 5, a method 500 for establishing a potentialfield-of-view of the user 110 will be described, according to anillustrative embodiment. The method 500 will be described from theperspective of the user device 108 executing, via one or moreprocessors, the device application 116. The method 500 begins andproceeds to operation 502, where the user device 108 launches the deviceapplication 116.

From operation 502, the method 500 proceeds to operation 504, where thedevice application 116 prompts the user 110 to select a defaultpotential field-of-view or a custom potential field-of-view to be usedby the visual orientation system 114 for determining which item(s), ifany, are visible to the user 110 for a given location and orientationwithin the store premises 102. From operation 504, the method 500proceeds to operation 506, where the device application 116 receives aselection of either the default potential field-of-view or the custompotential field-of-view. From operation 506, the method 500 proceeds tooperation 508, where the device application 116 determines whether theselection received at operation 506 is for the default potentialfield-of-view or for the custom potential field-of-view.

If, at operation 508, the device application 116 determines that theselection received at operation 506 is for the default potentialfield-of-view, the method 500 proceeds from operation 508 to operation510. At operation 510, the device application 116 provides the defaultpotential field-of-view of the user 110 to the visual orientation system114 for use in determining an estimated field-of-view of the user 110.

The default potential field-of-view can be defined as a normal visualfield. In some embodiments, the normal visual field is defined inaccordance with optometry and ophthalmology standards for the normalhuman visual field, and as such, may be updated from time-to-time. Forexample, the normal human visual field is defined as an island of visionmeasuring 90 degrees temporally to central fixation, 50 degreessuperiorly and nasally, and 60 degrees inferiorly. Likewise, an abnormalfield of vision may be defined as a depression or absence of visionanywhere in the island of vision. The user 110 may select the defaultpotential field-of-view if he or she knows, based upon a visionassessment, that his or her visual field is normal. The user 110 mayselect the default potential field-of-view if he or she does not want tocustomize his or her potential field-of-view with the understanding thatthe visual orientation system 114 may therefore determine which item(s),if any, are visible to the user 110 for a given location and orientationwithin the store premises 102 with decreased accuracy. In someembodiments, the visual orientation system 114 can determine theestimated field-of-view of the user 110 based upon the location andorientation of the user device 108, without the potential field of view.

From operation 510, the method 500 proceeds to operation 512. The method500 ends at operation 512.

If, at operation 508, the device application 116 determines that theselection received at operation 506 is for the custom potentialfield-of-view, the method 500 proceeds from operation 508 to operation514. At operation 514, the device application 116 loads a visual fieldtest. The visual field test, in some embodiments, is a standardizedvisual field test utilized by optometrists and ophthalmologists todetermine a patient's visual field that has been optimized for use onthe user device 108. For example, the visual field test may utilize asoftware-based multi-fixation campimeter, such as a version of or theDamato Multi-Fixation Campimeter available from www.testvision.org.

In some embodiments, the visual field test is included as part of thedevice application 116. In some other embodiments, the visual field testis available via a website accessible by a web browser installed on theuser device 108. In some other embodiments, the visual field test isavailable via a web application accessible by the web browser. In someother embodiments, the visual field test is included in anotherapplication installed on the user device 108. The remaining operationsof the method 500 will be described in accordance with an embodiment inwhich the visual field test is included as part of the deviceapplication 116.

From operation 514, the method 500 proceeds to operation 516, where thedevice application 116 receives user input during the visual field test.From operation 516, the method 500 proceeds to operation 518, where thedevice application 116 determines the custom potential field-of-view ofthe user 110 based upon results of the visual field test. For example,the results of the visual field test may reveal blind spots and/or otherabnormalities of the visual field of the user 110. These abnormalitiescan be considered in determining the potential field-of-view of the user110. As such, different users may have different custom potentialfield-of-views and therefore may affect which, if any, items each usermay see when viewing an area of the store premises 102 from the samelocation and orientation. From operation 518, the method 500 proceeds tooperation 520, where the device application 116 provides the custompotential field-of-view of the user 110 to the visual orientation system114 for use by the visual orientation system 114 in a determination ofthe estimated field-of-view of the user 110.

From operation 520, the method 500 proceeds to operation 512. The method500 ends at operation 512.

Turning now to FIG. 6, an illustrative mobile device 600 and componentsthereof will be described. In some embodiments, the user device 108described above, in part, with reference to FIG. 1 can be configured asand/or can have an architecture similar or identical to the mobiledevice 600 described herein with respect to FIG. 6. It should beunderstood, however, that the user device 108 may or may not include thefunctionality described herein with reference to FIG. 6. Whileconnections are not shown between the various components illustrated inFIG. 6, it should be understood that some, none, or all of thecomponents illustrated in FIG. 6 can be configured to interact with oneother to carry out various device functions. In some embodiments, thecomponents are arranged so as to communicate via one or more busses (notshown). Thus, it should be understood that FIG. 6 and the followingdescription are intended to provide a general understanding of asuitable environment in which various aspects of embodiments can beimplemented, and should not be construed as being limiting in any way.

As illustrated in FIG. 6, the mobile device 600 can include a display602 for displaying data. According to various embodiments, the display602 can be configured to display at least a portion of the customer data139, at least a portion of the store data 141, at least a portion of theproduct data 142, at least a portion of the advertisement data 144,various graphical user interface (“GUI”) elements, text, images, video,virtual keypads and/or keyboards, messaging data, notification messages,metadata, internet content, device status, time, date, calendar data,device preferences, map and location data, customer serviceinteractions, combinations thereof, and the like. The mobile device 600also can include a processor 604 and a memory or other data storagedevice (“memory”) 606. The processor 604 can be configured to processdata and/or can execute computer-executable instructions stored in thememory 606. The computer-executable instructions executed by theprocessor 604 can include, for example, an operating system 608, one ormore applications 610 such as the application 116, othercomputer-executable instructions stored in a memory 606, or the like. Insome embodiments, the applications 610 also can include a UI application(not illustrated in FIG. 6).

The UI application can interface with the operating system 608 tofacilitate user interaction with functionality and/or data stored at themobile device 600 and/or stored elsewhere, such as in the store database134. In some embodiments, the operating system 608 can include a memberof the SYMBIAN OS family of operating systems from SYMBIAN LIMITED, amember of the WINDOWS MOBILE OS and/or WINDOWS PHONE OS families ofoperating systems from MICROSOFT CORPORATION, a member of the PALM WEBOSfamily of operating systems from HEWLETT PACKARD CORPORATION, a memberof the BLACKBERRY OS family of operating systems from RESEARCH IN MOTIONLIMITED, a member of the IOS family of operating systems from APPLEINC., a member of the ANDROID OS family of operating systems from GOOGLEINC., and/or other operating systems. These operating systems are merelyillustrative of some contemplated operating systems that may be used inaccordance with various embodiments of the concepts and technologiesdescribed herein and therefore should not be construed as being limitingin any way.

The UI application can be executed by the processor 604 to aid a user ininteracting with at least a portion of the customer data 139, at least aportion of the store data 141, at least a portion of the product data142, at least a portion of the advertisement data 144, and/or other dataassociated with the store premises 102, the user device 108, the network122, the network location system 124, the store analytics system 128,the store location system 130, the visual orientation system 114, thestore database 134, and/or the other device and/or systems notspecifically described herein. The UI application can be executed by theprocessor 604 to aid a user in answering/initiating calls,entering/deleting other data, entering and setting user IDs andpasswords for device access, configuring settings, manipulating addressbook content and/or settings, multimode interaction, interacting withother applications 610, and otherwise facilitating user interaction withthe operating system 608, the applications 610, and/or other types orinstances of data 612 that can be stored at the mobile device 600.

According to various embodiments, the applications 610 can include, forexample, the device application 116, a visual field test application, aweb browser application, presence applications, visual voice mailapplications, messaging applications, text-to-speech and speech-to-textapplications, add-ons, plug-ins, email applications, music applications,video applications, camera applications, location-based serviceapplications, power conservation applications, game applications,productivity applications, entertainment applications, enterpriseapplications, combinations thereof, and the like. The applications 610,the data 612, and/or portions thereof can be stored in the memory 606and/or in a firmware 614, and can be executed by the processor 604. Thefirmware 614 also can store code for execution during device power upand power down operations. It should be appreciated that the firmware614 can be stored in a volatile or non-volatile data storage deviceincluding, but not limited to, the memory 606 and/or a portion thereof.

The mobile device 600 also can include an input/output (“I/O”) interface616. The I/O interface 616 can be configured to support the input/outputof data. In some embodiments, the I/O interface 616 can include ahardwire connection such as a universal serial bus (“USB”) port, amini-USB port, a micro-USB port, an audio jack, a PS2 port, an IEEE 1394(“FIREWIRE”) port, a serial port, a parallel port, an Ethernet (RJ45)port, an RJ11 port, a proprietary port, combinations thereof, or thelike. In some embodiments, the mobile device 600 can be configured tosynchronize with another device to transfer content to and/or from themobile device 600. In some embodiments, the mobile device 600 can beconfigured to receive updates to one or more of the applications 610 viathe I/O interface 616, though this is not necessarily the case. In someembodiments, the I/O interface 616 accepts I/O devices such askeyboards, keypads, mice, interface tethers, printers, plotters,external storage, touch/multi-touch screens, touch pads, trackballs,joysticks, microphones, remote control devices, displays, projectors,medical equipment (e.g., stethoscopes, heart monitors, and other healthmetric monitors), modems, routers, external power sources, dockingstations, combinations thereof, and the like. It should be appreciatedthat the I/O interface 616 may be used for communications between themobile device 600 and a network device or local device.

The mobile device 600 also can include a communications component 618.The communications component 618 can be configured to interface with theprocessor 604 to facilitate wired and/or wireless communications withone or more networks, such as the network 122 and the store network 126,and one or more of the plurality of beacons 106A-106D. In someembodiments, the communications component 618 includes a multimodecommunications subsystem for facilitating communications via thecellular network and one or more other networks.

The communications component 618, in some embodiments, includes one ormore transceivers. The one or more transceivers, if included, can beconfigured to communicate over the same and/or different wirelesstechnology standards with respect to one another. For example, in someembodiments one or more of the transceivers of the communicationscomponent 618 may be configured to communicate using GSM, CDMAONE,CDMA2000, LTE, and various other 2G, 2.5G, 3G, 4G, and greatergeneration technology standards. Moreover, the communications component618 may facilitate communications over various channel access methods(which may or may not be used by the aforementioned standards)including, but not limited to, TDMA, FDMA, W-CDMA, OFDM, SDMA, and thelike.

In addition, the communications component 618 may facilitate datacommunications using GPRS, EDGE, the HSPA protocol family includingHSDPA, EUL or otherwise termed HSDPA, HSPA+, and various other currentand future wireless data access standards. In the illustratedembodiment, the communications component 618 can include a firsttransceiver (“TxRx”) 620A that can operate in a first communicationsmode (e.g., GSM). The communications component 618 also can include anN^(th) transceiver (“TxRx”) 620N that can operate in a secondcommunications mode relative to the first transceiver 620A (e.g., UMTS).While two transceivers 620A-N (hereinafter collectively and/orgenerically referred to as “transceivers 620”) are shown in FIG. 6, itshould be appreciated that less than two, two, or more than twotransceivers 620 can be included in the communications component 618.

The communications component 618 also can include an alternativetransceiver (“Alt TxRx”) 622 for supporting other types and/or standardsof communications. According to various contemplated embodiments, thealternative transceiver 622 can communicate using various communicationstechnologies such as, for example, WI-FI, WIMAX, BLUETOOTH, BLE,infrared, infrared data association (“IRDA”), near field communications(“NFC”), other RF technologies, combinations thereof, and the like. Assuch, the alternative transceiver 622 facilitates communications withone or more of the plurality of beacons 106A-106D.

In some embodiments, the communications component 618 also canfacilitate reception from terrestrial radio networks, digital satelliteradio networks, internet-based radio service networks, combinationsthereof, and the like. The communications component 618 can process datafrom a network such as the Internet, an intranet, a broadband network, aWI-FI hotspot, an Internet service provider (“ISP”), a digitalsubscriber line (“DSL”) provider, a broadband provider, combinationsthereof, or the like.

The mobile device 600 also can include one or more sensors 624. Thesensors 624 can include temperature sensors, light sensors, air qualitysensors, movement sensors, orientation sensors (e.g., the orientationsensor(s) 118 shown in FIG. 1), noise sensors, proximity sensors, or thelike. As such, it should be understood that the sensors 624 can include,but are not limited to, accelerometers, magnetometers, gyroscopes,infrared sensors, noise sensors, microphones, combinations thereof, orthe like. One or more of the sensors 624 can be used to detect movementof the mobile device 600. Additionally, audio capabilities for themobile device 600 may be provided by an audio I/O component 626. Theaudio I/O component 626 of the mobile device 600 can include one or morespeakers for the output of audio signals, one or more microphones forthe collection and/or input of audio signals, and/or other audio inputand/or output devices.

The illustrated mobile device 600 also can include a subscriber identitymodule (“SIM”) system 628. The SIM system 628 can include a universalSIM (“USIM”), a universal integrated circuit card (“UICC”) and/or otheridentity devices. The SIM system 628 can include and/or can be connectedto or inserted into an interface such as a slot interface 630. In someembodiments, the slot interface 630 can be configured to acceptinsertion of other identity cards or modules for accessing various typesof networks. Additionally, or alternatively, the slot interface 630 canbe configured to accept multiple subscriber identity cards. Becauseother devices and/or modules for identifying users and/or the mobiledevice 600 are contemplated, it should be understood that theseembodiments are illustrative, and should not be construed as beinglimiting in any way.

The mobile device 600 also can include an image capture and processingsystem 632 (“image system”). The image system 632 can be configured tocapture or otherwise obtain photos, videos, and/or other visualinformation. As such, the image system 632 can include cameras, lenses,charge-coupled devices (“CCDs”), combinations thereof, or the like. Themobile device 600 may also include a video system 634. The video system634 can be configured to capture, process, record, modify, and/or storevideo content. Photos and videos obtained using the image system 632 andthe video system 634, respectively, may be added as message content toan MMS message, email message, and sent to another mobile device. Thevideo and/or photo content also can be shared with other devices viavarious types of data transfers via wired and/or wireless communicationdevices as described herein.

The mobile device 600 also can include one or more location components636 (e.g., the location component(s) 120 described above with referenceto FIG. 1). The location components 636 can be configured to send and/orreceive signals to determine a location of the mobile device 600.According to various embodiments, the location components 636 can sendand/or receive signals from GPS devices, assisted-GPS (“A-GPS”) devices,WI-FI/WIMAX and/or cellular network triangulation data, combinationsthereof, and the like. The location component 636 also can be configuredto communicate with the communications component 618 to retrievetriangulation data for determining a location of the mobile device 600.In some embodiments, the location component 636 can interface withcellular network nodes, telephone lines, satellites, locationtransmitters and/or beacons, wireless network transmitters andreceivers, combinations thereof, and the like. In some embodiments, thelocation component 636 can include and/or can communicate with one ormore of the sensors 624 such as a compass, an accelerometer, and/or agyroscope to determine the orientation of the mobile device 600. Usingthe location component 636, the mobile device 600 can generate and/orreceive data to identify its geographic location, or to transmit dataused by other devices to determine the location of the mobile device600. The location component 636 may include multiple components fordetermining the location and/or orientation of the mobile device 600.

The illustrated mobile device 600 also can include a power source 638.The power source 638 can include one or more batteries, power supplies,power cells, and/or other power subsystems including alternating current(“AC”) and/or direct current (“DC”) power devices. The power source 638also can interface with an external power system or charging equipmentvia a power I/O component 640. Because the mobile device 600 can includeadditional and/or alternative components, the above embodiment should beunderstood as being illustrative of one possible operating environmentfor various embodiments of the concepts and technologies describedherein. The described embodiment of the mobile device 600 isillustrative, and should not be construed as being limiting in any way.

FIG. 7 is a block diagram illustrating a computer system 700 configuredto provide the functionality described herein in accordance with variousembodiments of the concepts and technologies disclosed herein. In someembodiments, the user device 108, the store analytics system 128, thestore location system 130, and/or the visual orientation system 114, canbe configured as and/or can have an architecture similar or identical tothe computer system 700 described herein with respect to FIG. 7. Itshould be understood, however, that the user device 108, the storeanalytics system 128, the store location system 130, and/or the visualorientation system 114 may or may not include the functionalitydescribed herein with reference to FIG. 7.

The computer system 700 includes a processing unit 702, a memory 704,one or more user interface devices 706, one or more input/output (“I/O”)devices 708, and one or more network devices 710, each of which isoperatively connected to a system bus 712. The bus 712 enablesbi-directional communication between the processing unit 702, the memory704, the user interface devices 706, the I/O devices 708, and thenetwork devices 710.

The processing unit 702 may be a standard central processor thatperforms arithmetic and logical operations, a more specific purposeprogrammable logic controller (“PLC”), a programmable gate array, orother type of processor known to those skilled in the art and suitablefor controlling the operation of the computer system 700. Processingunits are generally known, and therefore are not described in furtherdetail herein.

The memory 704 communicates with the processing unit 702 via the systembus 712. In some embodiments, the memory 704 is operatively connected toa memory controller (not shown) that enables communication with theprocessing unit 702 via the system bus 712. The memory 704 includes anoperating system 714 and one or more program modules 716. The operatingsystem 714 can include, but is not limited to, members of the WINDOWS,WINDOWS CE, and/or WINDOWS MOBILE families of operating systems fromMICROSOFT CORPORATION, the LINUX family of operating systems, theSYMBIAN family of operating systems from SYMBIAN LIMITED, the BREWfamily of operating systems from QUALCOMM CORPORATION, the MAC OS,and/or iOS families of operating systems from APPLE CORPORATION, theFREEBSD family of operating systems, the SOLARIS family of operatingsystems from ORACLE CORPORATION, other operating systems, and the like.

The program modules 716 may include various software and/or programmodules described herein. In some embodiments, for example, the programmodules 716 include the device application 116, the store analyticsapplication 136, the store location application 138, or the visualorientation application 140. The device application 116, the storeanalytics application 136, the store location application 138, thevisual orientation application 140, and/or other software programs canbe embodied in computer-readable media containing instructions that,when executed by the processing unit 702, perform at least a portion ofone or more of the methods 200, 300, 400, 500 described in detail abovewith respect to FIGS. 2-5. According to embodiments, the program modules716 may be embodied in hardware, software, firmware, or any combinationthereof. Although not shown in FIG. 7, it should be understood that thememory 704 also can be configured to store all or a portion of the storedatabase 134 and/or other data, if desired.

By way of example, and not limitation, computer-readable media mayinclude any available computer storage media or communication media thatcan be accessed by the computer system 700. Communication media includescomputer-readable instructions, data structures, program modules, orother data in a modulated data signal such as a carrier wave or othertransport mechanism and includes any delivery media. The term “modulateddata signal” means a signal that has one or more of its characteristicschanged or set in a manner as to encode information in the signal. Byway of example, and not limitation, communication media includes wiredmedia such as a wired network or direct-wired connection, and wirelessmedia such as acoustic, RF, infrared and other wireless media.Combinations of the any of the above should also be included within thescope of computer-readable media.

Computer storage media includes volatile and non-volatile, removable andnon-removable media implemented in any method or technology for storageof information such as computer-readable instructions, data structures,program modules, or other data. Computer storage media includes, but isnot limited to, RAM, ROM, Erasable Programmable ROM (“EPROM”),Electrically Erasable Programmable ROM (“EEPROM”), flash memory or othersolid state memory technology, CD-ROM, digital versatile disks (“DVD”),or other optical storage, magnetic cassettes, magnetic tape, magneticdisk storage or other magnetic storage devices, or any other mediumwhich can be used to store the desired information and which can beaccessed by the computer system 700. In the claims, the phrase “computerstorage medium” and variations thereof does not include waves or signalsper se and/or communication media.

The user interface devices 706 may include one or more devices withwhich a user accesses the computer system 700. The user interfacedevices 706 may include, but are not limited to, computers, servers,personal digital assistants, cellular phones, or any suitable computingdevices. The I/O devices 708 enable a user to interface with the programmodules 716. In one embodiment, the I/O devices 708 are operativelyconnected to an I/O controller (not shown) that enables communicationwith the processing unit 702 via the system bus 712. The I/O devices 708may include one or more input devices, such as, but not limited to, akeyboard, a mouse, or an electronic stylus. Further, the I/O devices 708may include one or more output devices, such as, but not limited to, adisplay screen or a printer to output data such as the data stored inthe store database 134 in the form of text, numbers, characters, maps,other visualizations, and the like.

The network devices 710 enable the computer system 700 to communicatewith other networks or remote systems via one or more networks such asthe network 122 and/or the store network 126. Examples of the networkdevices 710 include, but are not limited to, a modem, a radio frequency(“RF”) or infrared (“IR”) transceiver, a telephonic interface, a bridge,a router, or a network card. The network 122, 126 may include a wirelessnetwork such as, but not limited to, a WLAN such as a WI-FI network, aWWAN, a Wireless Personal Area Network (“WPAN”) such as BLUETOOTH, aWMAN such a WiMAX network, or a cellular network. Alternatively, thenetwork 122, 126 may be a wired network such as, but not limited to, aWAN such as the Internet, a LAN, a wired PAN, or a wired MAN.

Turning now to FIG. 8, additional details of an embodiment of thenetwork 122 are illustrated, according to an illustrative embodiment.The network 122 includes a cellular network 802, a packet data network804, for example, the Internet, and a circuit switched network 806, forexample, a publicly switched telephone network (“PSTN”). The cellularnetwork 802 includes various components such as, but not limited to,base transceiver stations (“BTSs”), Node-B's or e-Node-B's, base stationcontrollers (“BSCs”), radio network controllers (“RNCs”), mobileswitching centers (“MSCs”), mobile management entities (“MMEs”), shortmessage service centers (“SMSCs”), multimedia messaging service centers(“MMSCs”), home location registers (“HLRs”), home subscriber servers(“HSSs”), visitor location registers (“VLRs”), charging platforms,billing platforms, voicemail platforms, GPRS core network components,location service nodes, an IP Multimedia Subsystem (“IMS”), and thelike. The cellular network 802 also includes radios and nodes forreceiving and transmitting voice, data, and combinations thereof to andfrom radio transceivers, networks, the packet data network 804, and thecircuit switched network 806.

A mobile communications device 808, such as, for example, the userdevice 108, a cellular telephone, a user equipment, a mobile terminal, aPDA, a laptop computer, a handheld computer, and combinations thereof,can be operatively connected to the cellular network 802. The cellularnetwork 802 can be configured as a 2G GSM network and can provide datacommunications via GPRS and/or EDGE. Additionally, or alternatively, thecellular network 802 can be configured as a 3G UMTS network and canprovide data communications via the HSPA protocol family, for example,HSDPA, EUL (also referred to as HSUPA), and HSPA+. The cellular network802 also is compatible with 4G mobile communications standards as wellas evolved and future mobile standards.

The packet data network 804 includes various devices, for example,servers, computers, databases, and other devices in communication withanother, as is generally known. The packet data network 804 devices areaccessible via one or more network links. The servers often storevarious files that are provided to a requesting device such as, forexample, a computer, a terminal, a smartphone, or the like. Typically,the requesting device includes software (a “browser”) for executing aweb page in a format readable by the browser or other software. Otherfiles and/or data may be accessible via “links” in the retrieved files,as is generally known. In some embodiments, the packet data network 804includes or is in communication with the Internet. The circuit switchednetwork 806 includes various hardware and software for providing circuitswitched communications. The circuit switched network 806 may include,or may be, what is often referred to as a plain old telephone system(“POTS”). The functionality of a circuit switched network 806 or othercircuit-switched network are generally known and will not be describedherein in detail.

The illustrated cellular network 802 is shown in communication with thepacket data network 804 and a circuit switched network 806, though itshould be appreciated that this is not necessarily the case. One or moreInternet-capable devices 88, for example, a personal computer (“PC”), alaptop, a portable device, or another suitable device, can communicatewith one or more cellular networks 802, and devices connected thereto,through the packet data network 804. It also should be appreciated thatthe Internet-capable device 810 can communicate with the packet datanetwork 804 through the circuit switched network 806, the cellularnetwork 802, and/or via other networks (not illustrated).

As illustrated, a communications device 812, for example, a telephone,facsimile machine, modern, computer, or the like, can be incommunication with the circuit switched network 806, and therethrough tothe packet data network 804 and/or the cellular network 802. It shouldbe appreciated that the communications device 812 can be anInternet-capable device, and can be substantially similar to theInternet-capable device 810. In the specification, the network 122 maybe used to refer broadly to any combination of the networks 802, 804,806. It should be appreciated that substantially all of thefunctionality described with reference to the network 122 can beperformed by the cellular network 802, the packet data network 804,and/or the circuit switched network 806, alone or in combination withother networks, network elements, and the like.

Turning now to FIG. 9, a method 900 for using an estimated field-of-viewof the user 110 to provide customer service will be described, accordingto an illustrative embodiment. The method 900 begins and proceeds tooperation 902, where the store analytics system 128 receives anotification from the visual orientation system 114. The notificationcan identify one or more items within an estimated field-of-view of theuser 110. From operation 902, the method 900 proceeds to operation 904,where the store analytics system 128 presents the notification to one ormore customer service personnel.

From operation 904, the method 900 proceeds to operation 906, where thestore analytics system 128 receives input from the customer servicepersonnel to provide assistance to the user 110. In response, atoperation 908, the store analytics system 128 establishes acommunications session with the user device 108 over the store network126 and/or the network 122, for example. The communications session maybe a text-based chat session, a voice session (e.g., VoIP), a videosession, or other session by which the customer service personnel cancommunicate with the user 110 to provide assistance with regards to anyof the one or more items within the estimated field-of-view of the user110.

From operation 908, the method 900 proceeds to operation 910, where thecustomer service personnel provides assistance to the user 110 via thecommunications session. The customer service personnel may assist theuser 110 in locating a particular item which may or may not be withinthe estimated field-of-view. The customer service personnel may assistthe user 110 with past, present and/or future promotions associated withany of the one or more items within the estimated field-of-view of theuser 110. The customer service personnel may assist the user 110 withselecting one or more of the items within the estimated field-of-view ofthe user 110 that best suits his or her needs. It should be understoodthat the aforementioned assistance examples are merely exemplary andshould not be construed as being limiting in any way.

From operation 910, the method 900 proceeds to operation 912. The method900 ends at operation 912.

In some embodiments, the customer service personnel may provideassistance to the user 110 based upon information obtained from the userdevice 108 that may indicate that the user 110 is having difficulty withsome aspects of his or her shopping experience. For example, how longthe user 110 maintains the estimated field-of-view may be indicative ofthe user 110 being unable to locate a particular item or the user 110 ishaving difficulty deciding which of many items he or she shouldpurchase.

In some other embodiments, the user 110 may provide input to the userdevice 108 to instruct the user device 108 to initiate thecommunications session with the store analytics system 128. In theseembodiments, the store analytics system 128 may request from the userdevice 108 orientation and location information for querying the visualorientation system to determine what, if any, items are located withinthe estimated field-of-view of the user 110 so that the customer servicepersonnel can be aware of what it is the user 110 is currently viewingin order to better assist the user 110.

Based on the foregoing, it should be appreciated that aspects ofin-store field-of-view merchandising and analytics have been disclosedherein. Although the subject matter presented herein has been describedin language specific to computer structural features, methodological andtransformative acts, specific computing machinery, and computer-readablemedia, it is to be understood that the concepts and technologiesdisclosed herein are not necessarily limited to the specific features,acts, or media described herein. Rather, the specific features, acts andmediums are disclosed as example forms of implementing the concepts andtechnologies disclosed herein.

The subject matter described above is provided by way of illustrationonly and should not be construed as limiting. Various modifications andchanges may be made to the subject matter described herein withoutfollowing the example embodiments and applications illustrated anddescribed, and without departing from the true spirit and scope of theembodiments of the concepts and technologies disclosed herein.

What is claimed is:
 1. A system comprising: a processor; and a memorystoring computer-executable instructions that, when executed by theprocessor, cause the processor to perform operations comprisingreceiving, from a visual orientation system, an estimated field-of-viewof a customer, wherein the estimated field-of-view is determined by thevisual orientation system, sending, to a user device associated with thecustomer, a request for orientation and location information for use indetermining what, if any, items are located within the estimatedfield-of-view so that a customer service person is made aware of whatthe customer is currently viewing, determining, based upon theorientation and location information received from the user device inresponse to the request, what, if any, items are located within theestimated field-of-view, and establishing, with the user deviceassociated with the customer, a communications session over which thecustomer service person can provide assistance to the customer based, atleast in part, upon the estimated field-of-view of the customer andwhat, if any, items are located within the estimated field-of-view. 2.The system of claim 1, wherein the communications session facilitates atext-based chat session, a voice session, or a video session between thecustomer and the customer service person.
 3. The system of claim 1,wherein receiving the estimated field-of-view of the customer comprisesreceiving the estimated field-of-view of the customer in response toinput received from the customer service person; wherein the input isprovided by the customer service person in response to informationobtained from the user device; and wherein the information indicatesthat the customer is having difficulty with an aspect of a shoppingexperience.
 4. The system of claim 1, wherein the operations furthercomprise receiving, from the user device, a customer request; andwherein establishing the communications session comprises establishingthe communications session in response to the customer request receivedfrom the user device.
 5. The system of claim 1, wherein the assistancecomprises assisting the customer with locating a specific item of theitems based, at least in part, upon the estimated field-of-view.
 6. Amethod comprising: receiving, from a visual orientation system, by astore analytics system comprising a processor, an estimatedfield-of-view of a customer, wherein the estimated field-of-view isdetermined by the visual orientation system; sending, by the storeanalytics system, to a user device associated with the customer, arequest for orientation and location information for use in determiningwhat, if any, items are located within the estimated field-of-view sothat a customer service person is made aware of what the customer iscurrently viewing; determining, by the store analytics system, basedupon the orientation and location information, what, if any, items arelocated within the estimated field-of-view; and establishing, by thestore analytics system, with the user device associated with thecustomer, a communications session over which the customer serviceperson can provide assistance to the customer based, at least in part,upon the estimated field-of-view of the customer and what, if any, itemsare located within the estimated field-of-view.
 7. The method of claim6, wherein the communications session facilitates a text-based chatsession, a voice session, or a video session between the customer andthe customer service person.
 8. The method of claim 6, whereinreceiving, by the store analytics system, the estimated field-of-view ofthe customer comprises receiving, by the store analytics system, theestimated field-of-view of the customer in response to input receivedfrom the customer service person; wherein the input is provided by thecustomer service person in response to information obtained from theuser device; and wherein the information indicates that the customer ishaving difficulty with an aspect of a shopping experience.
 9. The methodof claim 6, further comprising receiving, from the user device, acustomer request; and wherein establishing, by the store analyticssystem, the communications session comprises establishing thecommunications session in response to the customer request received fromthe user device.
 10. The method of claim 6, wherein the assistancecomprises assisting the customer with locating a specific item of theitems based, at least in part, upon the estimated field-of-view.
 11. Acomputer storage medium comprising instructions that, when executed by aprocessor of a system, cause the system to perform operationscomprising: receiving, from a visual orientation system, an estimatedfield-of-view of a customer, wherein the estimated field-of-view isdetermined by the visual orientation system; sending, to a user deviceassociated with the customer, a request for orientation and locationinformation for use in determining what, if any, items are locatedwithin the estimated field-of-view so that a customer service person ismade aware of what the customer is currently viewing; determining, basedupon the orientation and location information, what, if any, items arelocated within the estimated field-of-view; and establishing with theuser device associated with the customer, a communications session overwhich the customer service person can provide assistance to the customerbased, at least in part, upon the estimated field-of-view of thecustomer and what, if any, items are located within the estimatedfield-of-view.
 12. The computer storage medium of claim 11, wherein thecommunications session facilitates a text-based chat session, a voicesession, or a video session between the customer and the customerservice person.
 13. The computer storage medium of claim 11, whereinreceiving the estimated field-of-view of the customer comprisesreceiving the estimated field-of-view of the customer in response toinput received from the customer service person; wherein the input isprovided by the customer service person in response to informationobtained from the user device; and wherein the information indicatesthat the customer is having difficulty with an aspect of a shoppingexperience.
 14. The computer storage medium of claim 11, wherein theoperations further comprise receiving, from the user device, a customerrequest; and wherein establishing the communications session comprisesestablishing the communications session in response to the customerrequest received from the user device.